Last week I reviewed Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I might have been a little harsh, but I stand by my arguments. All the same, I decided to consult once again with my anime advisers. They've led me to so many interesting features and series that I never would have found on my own, so even when they send an unmistakable stinker like SAC my way I'm still willing to trust their opinions. Before this project could move forward, we had to get back on the same page.
The ensuing discussion was thankfully fruitful and not just a woefully stereotypical pitting of nerd rage against pigheaded Westernism. My pro-SAC advisers ran down everything they thought made the show good. Their answers were respectable enough, citing interesting existential dilemmas in the characters and some of the finer implications of the plot, like the transition of cyber-terrorism into a physical threat. My response to all of that was simple: There is a difference between a good concept and well-executed concept. I used the following analogy-
Let's say you have a high-quality cut of raw steak. On its own it's not very appealing, but it has great potential. Put in the hands of a competent cook with the right ingredients and equipment, it can become a delicious meal. In essence, a good concept executed properly. Of course, that same raw steak could be slathered in elementary-school-grade barbecue sauce and deep fried in fish oil. Just because it had the potential to be great in its original form doesn't mean that spirit of greatness was carried through the execution process. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is just like that. It's a great concept with all the potential to be a top-tier anime, but its iffy animation and horrible script ruin any chance that it'll come out right.
Several weeks ago I reviewed the early episodes of Blue Seed, a long series from the mid-1990's that I enjoyed very much. I promised that I would return to it in a later entry so I could do justice to its larger meta-plot. I'm glad I slated it for this week because it is essentially the thesis in my concept/execution argument. While I didn't see the game-changing depth in those later episodes that my advisers saw, I did take away something new about Blue Seed. This series is the inverse of SAC. It is a none-too-exciting concept executed excellently.
Give me an anime cliche and I will show you where to find it in Blue Seed, but I will also tell you that it's fun to watch anyway... Moe high school girl, giant monster with paper-thin motivations, sweat symbols at moments of nervousness or embarrassment, and more mysterious strangers than you can shake an oversized mystical weapon at. Still, the show is such a technical achievement for its time and so effortlessly affecting in its script that it's easy to accept these tropes as being more than just a collection of conventions. The plot is driven by action and symbols, not exposition, and the humor is well-integrated into the tone instead of shoehorned into inappropriate moments (*cough*talkingcutesytank*cough*).
As for the new story elements in the later episodes of Blue Seed, the plot did a little more thickening than necessary twisting. But by a dozen episodes deep, a viewer really shouldn't expect anything revelatory. Blue Seed never promises that kind of depth and it really doesn't need it. In that way it reminds me of another popular show from the mid-1990's: Friends. It was middle-brow at best and in its peak years it held its tone and delivered only what it was good at. Again, good execution regardless of the starting concept.
My comprehension and enjoyment of Blue Seed remains the same. For its service in clearing my conflict resulting from SAC, I'll throw in another point to my improvement of understanding, elevating it to a 9/10.
Next Week: Bleach
